Star Tuckpointing Inc

It went well overall. They came and did preparation work in late July, but as conditions were too wet for them to do the bulk of the contracted work they returned the following Monday to finish the work. After their first visit, they had said they would return when the weather was drier. When they returned Aug. 1 I received a call after their crew was on its way, rather than getting a call in advance. Fortunately, one of the unit owners who's presence/cooperation we needed was at home (I had a key to the other unit that we needed to go through).

We had brick damage around our chimney and roof probably due to water leakage. Peter came out and gave us an estimate for replacing the bricks and patching up leaky areas. He then came out and replaced the crumbling bricks and fixed these 6' cracks. I was also very happy with the matching of the bricks. Our house is over 100 years old old and getting the right "antique brick" look couldn't have been easy. We never discussed what the bricks would look like once installed -- I never thought to bring it up because I was more concerned about getting the cracks fixed. I was impressed when the work was finished as I realized Peter took such attention to ensure the bricks matched the rest of the house. The final cost was right on. We were very pleased with the work.

They were efficient but there was nothing that stood out to me about them.

This review is long overdue! The whole experience was excellent -- Star Tuckpointing provided the most competitive price, they were punctual, professional and very clear about the work that was going to be performed and they were very neat. After the job, they followed up to make sure all tenants were happy. I'd definitely use them again in the future. Also, since we had the work completed at this condo building, I put my unit up for sale. While under contract, the potential buyers had questions about weeps around balcony doors from my unit. Not being a masonry, I didn't know who to call or how to answer the questions from my buyers. Even though it had nothing to do with the actual work that they completed, I decided to chance it and call Star Tuckpointing in hopes they'd remember me (they completed the work almost one year ago) and would be able to help me answer questions about weeps. On top of it, it was a Saturday, so I got their voice mail. I left a message asking someone if they could possibly call me the following week to answer my questions. Bartek (I hope I'm spelling your name correctly) called me that same day. I was so impressed -- he took a LOT of time on the phone to answer my questions and explain to me how the weeps work. Again, this had nothing to do with the actual work they specifically did on our building. I couldn't believe how understanding and helpful he was! He just wanted to help me field these questions from our buyers to help me with the selling process. They have made me a customer for life!! I will always call them in the future if we ever need masonry work done, and I'll highly recommend them to anyone who wants someone who can provide exceptional work, AMAZING customer service and a competitive price!

They did a great job. Thorough job of going through the site an explained exactly what work they were going to do. Completed the job in 2-3 days and kept the job site very clean. Really were professional. Will definitely keep them in mind for other work.

Very prompt on coming out to give an estimate and submitting it to me. They 'book' orders 3-5 weeks in advance of work. We were able to work out a satisfactory date despite a week long road trip close to the date they wanted to start. Good responsiveness to emails. Showed up on time and I got two surprises not mentioned in the quote: 1) they had said in the quote there might be a charge for replacing some chimney liner and the price which was good, they did not tell me there would also be a building permit charge. It was only $50 so I let it go. 2) The quote was to replace the chimney cap 'in place'. My chimney had a concrete slab separated by concrete spacers above the cap which I presumed was part of replacement. Crew boss asked if I wanted a metal cap on top of the chimney or just leave it 'uncapped'. 2nd surprise. Add another $100-125 to the bill. 3) Later that first morning crew boss advised there were a lot of 'holes' in the chimney's upper brick courses and given the quote I could either have them just do the brick courses down to the roof line (about halfway), or for an additional $200 have them go all the way down. Given the fact they were on site, I went with it. So a $2400 quote ended in a $2835 bill. A quote is an estimate. I understand. But at least two of those charges should have been mentioned ahead of time. Any one of these three things would not result in the rating I'm giving. But they all should have been considered in the original quote, which I can't find which is my bad. But hitting me with them bang bang bang was an oversight they ought to correct. It took pretty much as long as they estimated when setting up given a rain delay that first afternoon. They also asked me to close the damper and mentioned they would want to come inside at the end. I took that to mean they would open the damper and vacuum out dust/debris that was dislodged during the work. No such thing has happened. I have had house painters and roofers work on the house and they have always been careful of house plantings, or warned me when they were not going to be able to spare them. Star managed to pile cement bags on some perennials and pretty much take out a small shrub.

They did a great job. I have used their service several times and I am very happy with them. They are very experienced with older brick homes. They give you variety of options on how you want to go about fixing something. They will tell you if what you want to do is the wrong way to do it, but they will acknowledge that there is more than one way to do the job. They are very reasonably priced. They will get the job done when they say they are going to get it done. They stand by their word. They are always there, they are accessible, and they answer your calls every time you call them. They don't miss appointments. They are the only masons I will use.

I liked him; he seemed knowledgeable and honest. We're planning on having some work done soon.

Fantastic. Peter was my point person and maintained excellent communication throughout the project. We started late fall 2010 and, due to winter, halted until March 2011. As soon as weather became warm enough, Peter and his crew pressed forward to complete the work quickly. The quality was top-notch, with the work site kept clean. I left keys with Peter, and his crew was trustworthy. His pricing remained true to the estimate. Although Star Tuckpointing came in above others who submitted quotes, the lower quotes were not specialists in this area. Of the specialists, Star Tuckpointing's pricing was competitive. Most importantly, Peter was very knowledgeable and professional. He was the one to inform us of the need to test for lead prior to doing any paint removal, something other contractors were willing to overlook (in contravention to the laws and our requirements as homeowners). He helped us coordinate that test as well. In short, our experience with Star Tuckpointing was outstanding. I would not hesitate to use them again or recommend them to others.

This was our first time working with Star Tuckpointing. We received estimates from 5 other masonry companies to have waterproof coating applied to the cinder block masonry structure of our building. Star's estimate was comparable to the other firms and we choose them to complete the work based on all of the great reviews we read online. Our experience with Star exceeded expectations. Peter and his entire crew were extremely professional and an absolute pleasure to work with. We will definitely use Star again in the future and would recommend Star to our family and friends.

I found Star on Angie's list. Estimate was performed quickly and the work was performed very well in less time, and accoording to the estimate. The only thing that bothered me was the time between estimate and downpayment was about 5 weeks. It is myfirst time working with a masonry contractor, and overall I would definitely recommend.

The owner responded very promptly to my request and gave an excellent estimated price of $1800 for the chimney assuming a total rebuild and without replacing any flue tiles. I ultimately used another company that was able to provide more assurance that our clay tile roof would remain undisturbed. If the tile roof wasn't a consideration, I would definitely have used Star Tuckpointing based on his estimate, professional manner and top grades on Angies List.

1) Initial call returned promptly. 2) Peter came to estimate appointment promptly. 3) We were on schedule fro 6-7 weeks out and then needed job performed as painters were coming and Peter was able to accomodate us. 4) Great work performed in less than a day by 2 persons. 5) They followed up to make sure we were fine with the work and whether we needed them to return to do anything else.

I'm very impressed. The company was professional in everything they did, and the quality of their work was fantastic. I wouldn't hestitate to use them again on any masonry project. I obtained multiple quotes for the project, and they were the only company that recommended replacing the wall rather than sandblasting the existing brick. Since the price of the two projects was similar, I went with their approach. The project was complex (and messy!) but they finished it on time, and the final product looks wonderful. They definitely over-delivered.

Peter answered my call directly. He patiently listened to my need then explained that they don't do concrete work directly, rather in conjuction as needed with other masonry work.

They provided the lowest bid. They had great references and we were able to go look at their work on other houses. We are incredibly satisfied with the work they did. They were responsive getting to us for the bid and timely providing us with the estimate. They showed up on time and finished on schedule. They were impeccably clean. They did a great job. We recommended them to our neighbors who are also using them.

I contacted Star and scheduled an appointment to have Peter come out a day or two later. Peter was the utmost professional. He evaluated the condo for about half an hour and discussed the areas he thought needed remedying. I received a proposal within a day or two. The proposal broke down each step of the repairs and the costs associated with the repairs. In addition, he answered questions regarding the proposal multiple times, even going as far as to compare his proposal with a competing company's proposal. The condo association did not end up using Star primarily based on (1) the wait for the repairs (another company was able to come out a few weeks earlier) and (2) a condo vote regarding the added cost of one step of the repairs which was an optional fix in the view of the condo association. On a whole, though, the proposal was competitive and I would have trusted the Star team to do the work. Further, in testament to Star's dedication in providing excellent customer service, the company sought input from me regarding why they did not ultimately receive the work (in a positive/non-aggressive way), which I thought reflected well on the company's wanting to know how they can strive for improvement.

Estimate procedure was efficient; Peter was flexible about materials to be used and realistic about amount of work needed--did not try to sell me on a total tuckpointing job versus spot, nor fixing a lintel over a window that was OK (versus another estimate I received). Peter did suggest that help send water away from foundation by replacing a portion of the sidewalk. Price was not the absolute lowest I got, but certainly below some "fancy restoration" firms making somewhat exaggerated claims about mortar. (Though high-lime mortar versus using mortar that is too strong is a real issue, which is why I was happy Peter agreed to using a softer mortar than their usual mix.) We had great concerns about bricks being pushed out from a lintel area and Star was prepared to replace a portion of the lintel with a new steel flange. When the crew (Peter's brother and father among them) showed up, they determined that the lintel was only lightly rusted and could be scraped and recoated. Rebuilding one lower wall went well and new chimney looks great. I had hesitated about doing sidewalk work, but it came out very well and seems to be helping. I was concerned about brick being damaged due to grinding, but they used very little mechanical grinding and the spot tuckpointing work blends very well. They were very thorough and responsive to my pointing out a few spots at the end they might have missed. A small glitch occurred during the removal of the old sidewalk, but the crew was able to fix that with no problem. The work went quickly and the grounds were kept clean. There could have been more planning done/communication about access to my business during the work and safety for customers/delivery people. There is some new efflorescence now, but the brick seems sound.

Star Tuckpointing (Peter, Voytek, their father, and all the empolyees) were fantastic to work with. We went with them because of a referral from a friend who had similar work done. Their estimate was competetive with the others we received, and we were most comfortable with their level of expertise as well as their candor in what they thought "could" be done vs. what they believed "should" be done (for the record, we chose the latter). Our home is a 1906 greystone, so we had pretty extensive work that needed to be done to tear out and rebuild the parapet wall. When they were done, they re-did the roofing material and silvercoated their patch-work. From start to finish, they were responsive, prompt, courteous, and hard working. The completed job looks fantastic and should withstand the test of time (but if it doesn't, the project came with a 3 yr. warranty for labor & material). When it comes time to do additional tuckpointing around our home, I will not hesitate to contact Star Tuckpointing.

They did a great job. I get several other estimates from other companies and they were higher but I decided to go with Star after reading the reviews on Angie's list. They were very complete and were honest. There were no surprises and I felt very comfortable with their work. I thought that they were very professional. Everything they promised they did. For example, the caulking on all the window sills and applying the black tar on the roof to cover any gaps I might have in my flashing. They even invited me up to the roof to show me what they were doing. I believe they only wanted to do what needed to be done and were not pushing anything else. They cleaned up well and I would recommend them to others.

Trying to cordinate 2 different trades that need to end up with the major goal of a new flat roof on a brick building is not an easy thing. Star Tuckpointing worked with me, and the roofers to get to the finish point of a leak-free new roof and repaired parapet wall, along with some tuckpointing work and new Lintels for many windows. We learned alot about flat roofs in the process, and parapet walls. Beating an approaching Winter isn't fun either, so everyone worked as fast as possible to beat the snowfalls that always come. Once the roof was on, and Winter was gone, they came back to finish what was still needed on the long side walls, along with some sidewalk work and new basement steps. Each day they swept up and tidied the work site. Neighbors now stop us and talk about the house, that hasn't happened in the 20 years we've lived here.

The completed work was fantastic. Peter and Voytek did an exceptional job of organizing and scheduling the work. The job was done quickly and beautifully. Part of the job required repairing shoddy work that had been done previously by another contractor (not from Angie's List). Star redid the work and completed it in one day. The work was done totally to my satisfaction. I found Star to be exceptionally professional in their work ethic as well as very creative in their approach to unusual job requirements. I have had many compliments on Star's work. I would strongly recommend Star and plan to use them again in the future.

I was very satisfied with this company. They exceeded my expectations. They answerered all of my questions. They had patience with me. Star Tuckpointing does quality work. All of the workers were professional and perfectionists. After the job was done Peter called me up and asked if I was pleased with the job. I said yes. I am waiting for the bill in the mail. There was no pressure to pay for the job. He was more interested if the job was done right. There's also a three-year warrantly on the work. His contract listed everything he was going to do. He also gave me several options as to what to do with my fireplace. He made recommendations. I was getting water in my fireplace, and so far it is dry, thanks to Star Tuckpointing.

Star is by far the most responsive of any masonry contractor we dealt with. They came when they said they would, they started work when they said they would, and they came back to deal with minor issues when they said they would. The two brothers that own it are very professional and very conscientious. If you have a problem with something related to the job, they are on it immediately. Their pricing was by far the most fair of any masonry contractor we dealt with. The only minor point I would make is that some of the tuckpointing was a little messy - so it was necessary for them to come back and clean some of the mortar joints with muriatic acid. After cleaning, the mortar joints looked fine. Also, it is good to know that they use top-quality masonry sealer - and I did a TON of research on this issue. Overall the experience was very, very good.

I am so pleased with the work that was done at my apartment building. It looks beautiful ! The workmen were so efficient and never took a break even though it was so hot outside. I had to keep begging them to stop and take a break and have something to drink. At the end of each day they cleaned up the sidewalk and hosed it down with water so that it was cleaner than what I had it! I was also amazed that there was not 1 single flower or plant disturbed either. I have several flowers around the garage and just assumed that some would have been damaged. Not one was hurt at all - amazing!